Automatic piano.



No. 877,573. I PATENTED JAN. 28, 1908. S. J. LAUGHLI N.

AUTOMATIC PIANO.

APPLIOATION FILED JULY 7, 1906.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

PATENTED JAN. 28, 1908.

s. J. LAUGHLIN.

AUTOMATIC PIANO.

APPLIGATIOH FILED JULY 7. 1906.

' z SHEETS-SHEET 2.

0 I i //w I THE NORRIS PETERS 00., WASHINGTON n. c.

UNITED snares PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL JOHN LAUGHLIN, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE AUTOPIANO COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

AUTOMATIC PIANO.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 28, 1908.

Application filed July '7. 1906. Serial No. 325061.

To all whom it may concern:

.Be it known that I, SAMUEL JOHN LAUGH- LIN, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Rochester, in the county of Menroe and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Automatic Piano, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in automatic pianos, the principal objects being to provide means for facilitating the removal and replacement of the bellows and other closely related parts in a convenient and simple manner so that broken strings can be replaced and other repairs done; also to provide for accurately guiding the parts back into position and holding them as securely as is the ease with those pianos in which the parts are practically permanently fixed in position.

For the purpose of carrying out these objects I so construct the bellows and the several features which are closely related therewith that they form one single structure which can be removed as a whole from the casing after certain parts are disconnected and can be replaced in a convenient and simple manner in exactly the same position which they previously occupied.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will appear below.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawing in which,

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a piano casing with the front wall broken away to show interior construction. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of a portion of the bellows and attached parts showing how they appear when removed. from the casing. Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line No. 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is an elevation on an enlarged scale of a bracket which I prefer to employ, showing how it is connected with the bellows. Fig. 5 is a plan of the same, the bellows appearing in section, Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the bracket with a plate on which it rests, parts being shown in section and Fig. 7 is a transverse sectional view of the device.

The bellows comprises a main wind-chest a, two feeders or pumps 5, a reservoir 0, a regulator or soft bellows (Z, a valve or gate box c, and pedals These parts are all connected together in a suitable manner so that they may be manipulated as one piece, the pedals being pivotally mounted on brackets f connected with pumps Z) and the other part being rigidly connected except the portions thereof which are moved for producing tension. The parts being connected together in this manner, it will readily be understood that by disconnecting the wires running to the levers, the rubber tube or tubes, the catches on the sides, and loosening any screws employed, the bellows and the attached parts described can be placed into and removed from the piano casing. In order to provide for supporting the bellows in position in the casing, brackets g, are mounted thereon. These brackets rest on plates 7L secured to the bottom of the casing, each'being provided with a pin "L projecting upwardly. The bracket 9 is provided with a socket g for receiving the pin 7' and both the plate and the bracket project to the front asufiicient distance so that when the bellows to which the rear of the brackets are secured are tipped forward in the piano the front edge of the plate 7L serves as a pivot upon which the structure swings. In swinging on this pivot the rear end of the bracket is moved upwardly in an obvious manner, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 6, and the socket g withdrawn from the pin i. It will be seen, therefore, that a very simple manner of disconnecting the parts is here provided which does not interfere with the accurate placing of the parts in position when they are put in the piano and which, in fact,

includes means for causing them to register with each other so as always to be brought back to the right position.

In placing the structure in the piano casing, the brackets g are first placed on the front edges of the platen and the parts swung back until the pins i enter the socket g. The projecting ends of the main windchest a rest against a pair of inclined pieces 7c mounted in the casing. These inclined pieces extend upwardly and backwardly from a point near the front of the casing and they receive the rear side of the main wind chest and support it in the ordinary or any desired position. On the front of each pump, near the bottom, is placed a strip n, preferably of wood, which also leans against the piece 7c and thus assists in holding the parts in this position. Each of these pieces carries a bracket 0 extending toward the rear, as shown in Fig. 3. This bracket holds one end of a spring p bearing on the rear of the pump 6 for bringing it back into normal position.

In order that the structure may be properly guided into position when it is placed back in the piano, a guiding block 9 is provided on each end. This block is fastened to the rear to the wind-chest a and also to the piece a. It is rounded off at a point 9 at the bottom and one of its rear corners g? is beveled or roundedofi. This piece with its rounded end and corner serves to guide the parts accurately into position, its edge resting against the piece 74 for the pur pose of positioning the structure, after it is brought into proper position in the casing. The structure may be provided with any desired fastening means but I refer to use a button m mounted on each 0 the pieces 7c and adapted to swing over the guide g. This button can be swung into vertical position or into that shown in dotted lines in order to permit the structure to be removed and when the structure is in place, it is drawn into the position shown in full lines, and clamped by means of a thumb-screw Z or the like.

In operation, to remove the bellows, all the wires running to the levers are first disconnected, also any rubber tube or tubes, the buttons m are turned up, or if screws are employed to fasten the structure to the pieces it, these are loosened. The bellows is then tilted forward and pivoted on the front edges of the plates h, the sockets are withdrawn from the ins, as has been described, and the who e structure will come forward without displacing other parts or interfering therewith.

It is to be observed that all the parts which belong to the bellows are attached to it, even including the pedals. The brackets f for the pedals may be connected with the brackets g or with the bellows directly. In either event, they are swung upward with the rest of the structure and come out with it. In replacing the structure, the parts go back into place in just as simple a manner, the guides g acting to make the proper registration and to insure the entrance of the pins 1', into the sockets g.

While I have illustrated and described a particular form in which I prefer to embody my invention, I am aware that many modifications may be made therein by any person skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as expressed in the claims. Therefore, I do not wish to ,be limited to the particular construction illustrated, but

What I do claim and desire to secure by Letters-Patent is 1. The combination with a piano casing having a pair of rearwardly and upwardly inclined pieces located along its opposite ends,

near its ends, a structure comprising a main wind chest adapted to extend across the piano from one of said pieces to the other and to overlap them, a pair of pumps mounted on the wind chest, a pair of strips, one mounted oneach pump, said strips projecting over said end pieces of the casing, and means for operating the pumps.

3. The combination with a piano casing having a pair of end pieces at its opposite ends, with a structure comprising bellows for automatic'operation, and pedals supported thereby, said structure being bodily removable from the casing, and having elements engaging one side of each of said end pieces to limit the inward movement of the structure, and means on said end pieces for engaging the structure and securing it positively in position.

4. The combination with a piano casing having a pair of rearwardly and upwardly inclined pieces along its opposite ends with a structure comprising the bellows for automatic operation, and pedals connected therewith, said structure being bodily removable from the casing, and means for engaging said inclined pieces and guiding said structure into proper position within the casing.

5. The combination with a piano casing having a pair of rearwardly and upwardly inclined pieces at its opposite ends with a struc ture comprising the bellows for automatic operation, and pedals connected therewith, said structure being bodily removable from the casing, and means for engaging said in clined pieces and guiding said structure into proper position within the casing, the structure having elements engaging one side of each of said inclined pieces to limitthe inward movement of the structure, and means on said inclined pieces for engaging the structure and securing it positively in position.

6. The combination of a piano casing hav ing upwardly extending pieces near its ends, with a structure comprising the bellows for automatic operation, means for operating the bellows, and a guide on each end of said structure for engaging said upright pieces,

each of said guides being provided with beveled lower ends and rear corners for engagement with said upwardly extending pieces.

7. In a piano, the combination of a casing having upwardly extending pieces near its ends, a structure comprising a main windchest adapted to extend across the piano from one of said pieces to the other and to overlap them, a pair of pumps mounted on said wind-chest, a pair of strips, one mounted on each of said pumps, said strips projecting over the end pieces in the casing, a bracket extending rearwardly from each strip, and a spring on each bracket for engaging the rear of the pump and bringing it back into normal position.

8. The combination of a bellows, a bracket at the lower end thereof-for supporting it, a plate for supporting the bracket, a pin and socket guiding connection between the bracket and plate, and means for causing the pin and socket to separate on the arc of a circle when the bellows is tipped-forward in the piano casing, whereby the pin and socket are disengaged from each other.

9. The combination with a piano casing of a bellows structure having a bracket thereon, and a plate on the bottom of the piano for supporting the bracket, said plate and bracket having a pin and socket guiding connection, the outer end of said plate serving as a pivot for said bracket when the structure is tilted forward in the piano casing.

10. A piano comprising a bellows structure having a bracket thereon provided with a socket, a plate on the bottom of the piano provided with a pin for engaging said socket, theouter edge of said plate serving as a pivot for said bracket when the structure is tilted forward in the piano casing.

11. The combination with a bellows, of a a socket in its lower surface, and a forwardly extending projection, a plate on which said bracket rests, said plate having a pin for entering the socket, the plate projecting forward under the projection on the bracket and the front edge of the plate serving as a pivot for the bellows and bracket.

12. The combination of a bellows, a bracket at the lower end thereof for supporting it, said bracket having a socket, a pin projecting upwardly for engaging said socket, and means for causing the socket to recede upwardly from the pin when the bellows is tipped forward in the piano casing, whereby the pin is disengaged from the bracket.

13. The combination of a bellows for a musical instrument with a support for the bellows, comprising a bracket having a socket and a forwardly projecting portion, and a plate on which said bracket rests, said plate projecting forward under said. projecting portion and having a pin for entering said socket whereby when the bracket is rocked forward it will swing about the forward edge of the plate as a pivot, and the pin will be disengaged from the socket.

111 testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

SAMUEL JOHN LAUGI-ILIN. l/Vitnesses A. O. Kenn, M. F. HOGAN. 

